August Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: January 6th, 2017
Where: Outside the Meeting Hall, the Far Shore / the Ryukyu Islands
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to the rear of the Meeting Hall, where a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from more experienced god and shinki volunteers.




Meeting Hall

God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a small meeting room, with tatami floors and a stage at the front of the room where the speaker stands. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. Paper and pens are provided to all the attendees as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given.

The speaker delivers her welcome speech in the monotone of someone who's practiced it far too often. Hopefully no one's feeling sleepy! She adds that gods should be cautious of anyone on the Near Shore who might ask to use their shrines to visit the Heavens, and should instruct their shinki to be cautious as well. There is an unrecognized god who the Heavens believe to be attacking them. Newly arrived gods are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out informational pamphlets that have been freshly printed. They will be happy to answer any questions or instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline. They also accompany their answers, or lessons, with an explanation of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives. Each of the shinki is wearing a brightly-colored sticky name tag reading HELLO, MY NAME IS ________, and all of their names appear to end with the syllable "mei."

A variety of weapons are available in the dojo for shinki and their gods to practice with, and a row of straw targets are set up along one wall. Outside, in an area carefully roped off with red ribbons, are six animated training dummies, also made of straw and dressed in plain cotton jackets and trousers. They will immediately engage anyone who enters the area marked with the ribbon, but will not pursue opponents outside it. A white-robed shinki nearby keeps a sharp eye on the animated dummies, and will intervene if anyone tries to destroy one. The white-robed shinki appears to be a particular expert in magic, and will occasionally offer to help out anyone who's practicing a spell more challenging than the Borderline, especially if they look quite lost. His nametag reads HELLO, MY NAME IS SABIMEI. (To interact with Sabimei, please comment on the "NPC REQUEST" thread below! If you prefer, you may also handwave his assistance or advice with your character learning spells.)

Physical Training

Two of the white-robed shinki, whose nametags mark them as Toumei and Kimei, are standing off to one side of the training area near a pair of large, curtained tents. They each have an enormous wicker basket full of clean, folded beach towels, and a rack of what appear to be wetsuits and swimsuits in a variety of styles and sizes. Once suited and toweled, new and veteran residents of the Heavens alike will be handed a pretty white-and-gold cockade that can be pinned to their suit or tied around their wrist by its ribbons, and either Toumei or Kimei will escort them to a beautiful, but rocky, Near Shore beach. Tropical plants, palm trees and high grasses surround the area, and although the sounds of cars are audible from a road not too far away, the only sign of human presence on this beach is an ancient, rotting fishing boat pulled up well past the high tide mark.

It's quite chilly, with a brisk sea breeze, but there's room to run up and down the beach, a net set up for beach volleyball, younger shinki building sand castles, and showers for the brave souls who venture into the water. The surf is impressive today, so swimmers will get the chance for some serious exercise. There's also the chance to climb through the wreck of the old fishing boat; inside, piles of old seaweed and drifting sand host curious crabs, and a curious explorer could even find treasure... although nothing more valuable than large seashells, old one-yen or five-yen coins, and bits of weathered sea glass.

Rest and Refreshments

When sunset comes -- early, at this time of year -- the shinki bring giant picnic-sized bento boxes with five or seven layers of carefully packed foods, and pile wood for bonfires that leap with flames edged blue-green from the salt. The bento boxes contain a wide variety of traditional foods, many in the style of traditional New Year's dishes: sweet potato and chestnut, slivered carrot and burdock, whole fish, toasted mochi, sliced lotus root and more. A fireworks display starts over the ocean once full night falls, fountains and bursts in every color imaginable, some so ornate that it's hard to believe they're not helped along by a touch of magic. The display lasts half an hour.

After the last fireworks, the shinki will guide everyone back to the Meeting Hall to return to their homes. The wind is getting chillier, and gods or shinki who stay too much past the firework display will notice the tiny, creeping forms of glowing ayakashi no larger than a fist, looking like little jellyfish on land. They don't seem hostile; instead, they're fixated on the boat, and will climb on it and settle onto the rigging and wood of the boat, chirping quietly to themselves and snuggling in so that the whole boat seems to glow with an unearthly blue-white light. They can be fought and defeated, but if attacked, will fight back: and be careful! Those jellyfish tentacles spread blight instead of stinging, and they're longer than they look.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training at a beach (isn't it winter?!)
• Relax and watch the fireworks
• Have fun~

Comments

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun's lip curls slightly, but it's not so much a complicated issue as it is a painful one.] I doubt that kind of distraction is going to do much good.

[Distracting from reflexive reactions with pain seems like barely a break-even, but he does, eventually, at least relent enough to admit the crux of the problem.] Not long before I was pulled here, I found out that leaving a certain place without thinking got a lot of my allies killed in my absence. So I never want to make that oversight again.

[nopixiedust]

I thought it was something like that... [There are only so many explanations, after all. It's that kind of thing.] Then, do you think that this is the only way for you to deal with that memory?

[revolutionfalcon]

I'm not trying to "deal with it". I just don't want it to happen again. There's not that many ways to influence that.

[Honestly, in the end there might be no ways to influence that, but he wants to at least be there to fight if it happens again.]

[nopixiedust]

....Well, that's probably your first problem, Shun.

[revolutionfalcon]

I've had this conversation before. All that's going to happen if I try to "deal with" this stuff now is that I'll have to go back and confront it again, and then deal with it a second time when things are actually over.

[Shun points that out in a very blunt manner, and definitely phrased as if he's had to think about this before as he says.]

[nopixiedust]

When you go back?

[Well, "if", but that's depressing territory. Shun can make that happen all on his own.]

[revolutionfalcon]

Right. The war isn't done, so that's what I'm going back to whenever I do go back.

[Shun isn't entertaining the possibility of if. He doesn't think he could remain in his right mind with the question of how the war ends stuck there forever.]

[nopixiedust]

Well... Assuming the best case scenario- you win the war, everything turns out as good as it can be from a war- do you think you'd come back if the way was open to you?

[It's a little depressing, after all, to think that she might not see him ever again, just because the distance is too vast.]

[revolutionfalcon]

If I could go back and forth, I'd go between both worlds. [Shun doesn't hesitate to make that reply. He can't abandon his own for this one, but at the same time...] I have ties to this place as well now, so if I didn't have to completely abandon it to return to my world, I wouldn't.

[nopixiedust]

Good. Because, you know, if I'm dead, then I'm pretty stuck here. I'll be glad to see you, if we can get that to happen.

[She has an awful lot of god friends she'd miss if they all went home.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[As ever, the idea of someone being particularly glad to see him gets a slight frown of confusion on Shun's face, but it fades a little after a moment or two.]

I'd prefer not to leave allies and friends behind me if I don't have to. That means both there and here.

[nopixiedust]

So if you don't like to leave them behind you, what's forward?

[A little hypothetical, but hopefully it helps distract from the fireworks.]

[revolutionfalcon]

It's a little hard to tell at this point.

[For a number of reasons, from not knowing how things are going to pan out here or when he's going to get back home, to not knowing if he's even alive back home.]

[nopixiedust]

Well, even if it's difficult, I'm sure it'll be fine in the end no matter what's up ahead.

[Reaching over, she lightly taps her knuckles against his own. Shun doesn't strike her as the hand holding kind of guy, so this is the most she'll try with him.]

Whether here or back home, you're not alone, after all. In case your cute lover and my constant harassment haven't clued you in on that, yet.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun is certainly not the hand-holding type of guy unless it's with Ren (and even then, usually not in public), but he does give a slight movement to return the gesture, and a slight huff that almost sounds a touch amused.]

It'd be impossible not to have figured that out by now. [Nobody wants to let him forget, after all, even if he'd only just started getting used to not being alone again back home when he was dragged here.] Though you make it sound like you're the only one who harasses me.

[nopixiedust]

Oh, I'm sure I'm not the only one. To people who have the patience and that you don't scare off, you're very harassable. [So long as those same people are also helpful and not complete jackasses.] But I didn't want to name anyone I haven't met.

[revolutionfalcon]

So I've noticed. [There's something of an exasperated note to Shun's tone at that, though it's not entirely negative. He does seem to have a knack for attracting that kind of person to him, however unfortunate it might be.] It's better than being alone, anyway.

[He'd actually made somewhat of an effort to make sure he had at least enough ties here to not be isolated the way he was back home for a while.]

[nopixiedust]

And I'm sure everyone who bothers you cares about you, even at your grumpiest. [That's why she's here, after all. She glances over her shoulder back at the festivities.]

They should be winding down soon, don't you think?

[revolutionfalcon]

I doubt it's everyone. [He knows some people just bother him to try and get a reaction, but then, Shun doesn't tend to differentiate various kinds of bothering.

Though Shun hasn't really had the luxury of not paying attention to the fireworks, he does glance back at her mention of it.]

I'd certainly hope so. I don't know how they can run that sort of thing for this long.

[nopixiedust]

It's everyone, and it depends on how many fireworks they have. [Wendy taps her foot along the side, feeling it sink against the sole of her foot.] It's Heaven... if they wanted, they could probably be really obnoxious about this.

[revolutionfalcon]

You don't know that. [Shun's tone is dry as he points that out - she's hardly around for all the occasions of people bothering him.] And they've been obnoxious about it before. Like that time they spent a week doing this sort of garbage with no warning or reason.

[nopixiedust]

Educated guess.

[Because that counts, right]

And if they do it for a straight week, or any longer, I'm going to shove water on every single one of their fireworks. See them do it now.

[revolutionfalcon]

[That, at least, gets a faint snort out of Shun.] I suppose they have to keep them somewhere someone could get into to sabotage them. Considering how ineffective they are at tracking down the source of any other sabotage, it wouldn't be too hard.

[nopixiedust]

[Wendy ducks her head down a little, looking up at him with a grin.] So is that a volunteer to help me go sabotage them if we ever find where they keep them?

[revolutionfalcon]

You'd probably get in less trouble if you were caught with me than if you were caught alone. [He has his doubts wetting some fireworks could be interpreted as malicious sabotage, but it's probably the safer bet.]